Surrey residents marked 100 days of protesting against an asylum seeker hotel at a march this week.

People from the village of Stanwell came out in their furry coats and St George’s flags to walk to the war memorial and then outside the Stanwell Hotel on Tuesday, November 11.

The protests began after the Home Office repurposed the hotel, moving out women and families and housing single men seeking asylum instead. The change sparked anger among some residents, who say they were not consulted and feel safety and community ties have been affected.

Gemma Buckley, who has attended the protests since they began, said: “The march was organised today purely of it being Remembrance Day and what we fought for this country.

“Now we’re giving our country away to illegal immigrants that aren’t being checked. When there were families they were welcomed to the communities.”

However, others have pointed out that Remembrance Day also commemorates those who have fought to uphold humanitarian values including offering refuge to people displaced by war and persecution. Not all campaigners against the Stanwell Hotel agreed it was appropriate to protest on Remembrance Day.

Ms Buckley added: “We’re doing [the march] because we have protested for 100 days now at the hotel. We’ve had various council meetings and promises to use about trying to close the hotel down. But nothing has happened yet.”

Organiser Zoe Montgomery Talmage told the crowd last night: “We have not been heard by the council, the government or anyone. They have moved out our families, moved in more men, and we don’t feel safe on our streets. But today is about saying thank you to the community for still standing strong for one another and our beliefs.”

Local councillors Karen Howkins and Denise Saliagopoulos attended the event. Cllr Howkins described the government’s response as “disappointing”, adding: “The residents inside the hotel were never listened to and the residents of Stanwell have not been listened to. The government has not listened, not wavered and not moved.”

Another resident, who did not want to be named, claimed the anti-immigration feeling had been “simmering” for a while and that “integration has failed”.

The Home Office has not publicly responded to residents’ claims, but previously said it uses hotels only as a temporary measure due to pressures on the asylum system and a shortage of alternative accommodation.

Spelthorne Borough Council has also raised concerns about the ongoing use of hotels in the area. Its leader, Cllr Joanne Sexton, said the council is “considering its next steps” following a failed High Court bid by Epping Council to block the use of a similar hotel for asylum seekers.

She said: “We are actively pursuing a response from the Home Office to our letter of 31 October following the Prime Minister’s announcement in October regarding the use of military sites to accommodate asylum seekers.”